April 24, 2008
Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4715
michael.curie@nasa.gov
Michael Mewhinney
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-3937/207-1323
michael.s.mewhinney@nasa.gov
Sarah Cooper
m2mi Corporation, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-961-5376
sarah.cooper@m2mi.com
RELEASE: 08-107
NASA AMES PARTNERS WITH M2MI FOR SMALL SATELLITE DEVELOPMENT
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field,
Calif., and m2mi Corp., Moffett Field, Calif., announced Thursday
they are taking a revolutionary step forward in improving
telecommunications and networking from space.
Under the terms of a cooperative research and development agreement,
only the third in NASA's history, NASA Ames and m2mi will work
together to develop very small satellites, called nanosats, for the
commercialization of space.
"NASA wants to work with companies to develop a new economy in space,"
said NASA Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden. "m2mi has great
technology that fits excellently with our goals, while enhancing the
commercial use of NASA-developed technologies."
Nanosatellites are small satellites weighing between 11 and 110
pounds. A large number of these satellites, called a constellation,
will be placed in low Earth orbit for the new telecommunications and
networking system.
"The constellation will provide a robust, global, space-based,
high-speed network for communication, data storage and Earth
observations," said m2mi Chief Executive Officer Geoff Brown.
"Nanosatellites take advantage of the significant technological
advances in microelectronics and will be produced using low-cost,
mass-production techniques."
Under the agreement, NASA and m2mi will cooperate to develop a fifth
generation telecommunications and networking system for Internet
protocol-based and related services. The cooperative effort will
combine NASA's expertise in nanosensors, wireless networks and
nanosatellite technologies with m2mi's unique capabilities in
software technology, sensors, global system awareness, adaptive
control and commercialization capabilities. Fifth Generation, or 5G,
incorporates Voice Over Internet Protocol, video, data, wireless, and
an integrated machine-to-machine intelligence layer, or m2mi, for
seamless information exchange and use.
"This initiative shows great promise in revolutionizing mobile
communications critical in meeting future needs," said Badri Younes,
NASA deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and
Navigation. "This project also will leverage m2mi's capabilities in
software expertise to automate global system awareness and provide
intelligent adaptive control."
For more information about m2mi, visit:
http://www.m2mi.com
For more information about NASA programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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